Spanish unity challenged - Nationalism not the only issue in play

IN a little over a week the old, divisive force at the root of so much European catastrophe will march again.

Nationalism has often been nobly asserted but the idea has often been worn to cloak a sense of nativist superiority that leads to persecution. The genocide inflicted on Myanmar’s Rohingya is the sharpest example today but there are others; it is not necessary to refer to history to recognise that toxic dynamic. The assertion of national independence has often been nobly done but there have always been casualties — the excluded, those of a minority religion or even just those unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Those happy with the pre-revolution status quo, as our history sadly shows, often suffer more than most.

On Sunday week Catalonia will vote on whether to secede from Spain or not. Spain’s highest court has ruled the poll unconstitutional. The Madrid government is determined to disrupt the ballot. That may be easier said than done. In a no-compromise reaction that characterises struggles driven by something presented as nationalism, Catalonia’s separatists have promised to declare independence within 48 hours of the vote should their ambitions be endorsed. That is most certainly easier said than done in any real way.

The outcome is uncertain. Many of those who see themselves as Spaniards first and Catalonians second may boycott the poll, which may prove counter-productive. How Madrid might react to an independence vote is a challenge for all of Europe — especially as EU stability was enhanced by German reunification. EC president Jean-Claude Juncker’s speech last week on deeper EU integration hardly supports the idea of fragmentation either. Support for independence stands at around 35% partly because the issue has been in play for so long. The Brexit example, one riven by dishonesty and confusion, is far from encouraging. Spain and Europe’s economic recovery are influential too.

The referendum, unsurprisingly, gave Sinn Féin another opportunity to show they share Humpty Dumpty’s flexibility with language — “When I use a word it means just what I choose it to mean.” The party supports the Catalan separatists even though their ambitions are diametrically opposed to Sinn Féin’s heartbeat ambition on this island. National unity may be the cause here but they take the completely opposite position in Spain. This chameleon capacity should not surprise anyone but it should inform our judgement.

The vote has a more important relevance for Ireland. Nationalism is not the only festering issue. A lack of transparency in federal spending; infrastructure investment used as a political weapon; labour law reform and — this will sound familiar — public sector reform delays play a part too.

Just like the Trump and the Brexit votes show, disenchantment eventually brings change. This weekend Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he would support a firmer attitude to under-performing public service managers. It is not the first promise of that smell-the-coffee kind he has made. As he must know, and as Mariano Rajoy’s government are learning in the harshest way, failure to deliver brings a huge cost.